Installed Creators Update, now PC won't start

L8TE · 12 May 2017

Well I'm starting to panic since I can't get my laptop running. I installed Creators update yesterday with Windows Update tool. At first try it gave an error so I tried again and it managed to install the update. After updating, Windows required to restart, so that's what I did. After that I just shut down my laptop and went to sleep.

As I tried to open up my laptop today it wouldn't start properly. I tried to search if anyone have had similar experiences with the update without any result. So as I press the power button of my laptop there will be four screens one after another:

- first there will the screen where you can head to the boot menu with right key combinations

- after that Windows is trying to open up for a few seconds (Windows logo and the little dots going in circle below the logo)

- then there's a flash of borders of some kind of info box (inside of the box is plain black and so is the background)

- and finally there's again the dots going in circle (now without the Windows logo) and below the dots there's a text saying "trying to restore previous Windows version" and after few seconds it will chance to "restoring previous Windows version"

Yeah the last screen seems like a solution but it will be there only for a couple of seconds and then it will start over again looping those four screens.

So here I am sitting on my couch desperately writing this post with my phone. I'd be glad to get some advice!

NavyLCDR · 12 May 2017

You are probably looking at having to do a clean install of Windows.

dalchina · 12 May 2017

I agree- you've no roll-back option, assuming everything was there on disk to do that.

If you had created disk images, you could have restored a previously working version of Windows and had a full backup (we strongly and repeatedly recommend using disk imaging routinely -e.g. Macrium Reflect (free) + its boot disk + external storage for images).

Do you have full backups of your data and program licences?
If not, that's your first priority.

Clean installing Win 10 - this will give you the Creator's build
(If that really doesn't work for you, it is possible to reinstall the AU- but you would then need to block updates (Home) or defer feature upgrades (Pro) - not ideal)
Download Windows 10 ISO File Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials
Clean Install Windows 10 Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials

ybnrmalatall · 12 May 2017

L8TE said:

Well I'm starting to panic since I can't get my laptop running. I installed Creators update yesterday with Windows Update tool. At first try it gave an error so I tried again and it managed to install the update. After updating, Windows required to restart, so that's what I did. After that I just shut down my laptop and went to sleep.

As I tried to open up my laptop today it wouldn't start properly. I tried to search if anyone have had similar experiences with the update without any result. So as I press the power button of my laptop there will be four screens one after another:

- first there will the screen where you can head to the boot menu with right key combinations

- after that Windows is trying to open up for a few seconds (Windows logo and the little dots going in circle below the logo)

- then there's a flash of borders of some kind of info box (inside of the box is plain black and so is the background)

- and finally there's again the dots going in circle (now without the Windows logo) and below the dots there's a text saying "trying to restore previous Windows version" and after few seconds it will chance to "restoring previous Windows version"

Yeah the last screen seems like a solution but it will be there only for a couple of seconds and then it will start over again looping those four screens.

So here I am sitting on my couch desperately writing this post with my phone. I'd be glad to get some advice!

Don't listen to people who say "reinstall windows" on their first post.
If you have any installation media or can get windows 10 iso installer on a usb, boot into that and try a repair with the "repair" on the language selection screen.

This creators update sucks hard. Every time I try to delete something, I get explorer.exe crashes. I even reinstalled Windows 10 and it STILL does it.

dalchina · 12 May 2017

ybnrmalatall said:

Don't listen to people who say "reinstall windows" on their first post.

I'm wondering if you actually understand this is a failed install, so we can't be sure there's actually an intact Windows on the disk to repair?

try a repair with the "repair" on the language selection screen.

I would be grateful if you can say exactly and specifically which repair are you talking about, please? Your guidance is not very specific, I'm afraid.

I would like to benefit from your thinking as to the basis on which it will help here, as I'm always keen to learn from all contributors. Thanks.

NavyLCDR · 12 May 2017

ybnrmalatall said:

Don't listen to people who say "reinstall windows" on their first post.
If you have any installation media or can get windows 10 iso installer on a usb, boot into that and try a repair with the "repair" on the language selection screen.

This creators update sucks hard. Every time I try to delete something, I get explorer.exe crashes. I even reinstalled Windows 10 and it STILL does it.

I would love to see your procedure for doing a repair install by booting from a Windows 10 USB flash drive. In order to do a repair install of Windows 10, the user must be able to log into their Windows 10. The repair option available from the Windows 10 installation USB flash drive is only for fixing problems when the computer won't boot (and it seldom fixes those problems). The OP is not having the type of boot problems that can be fixed by the repair option from the Windows 10 USB flash drive.

That being said, trying it certainly won't hurt anything but I'm 99% certain it will be a waste of time.

L8TE · 13 May 2017

ybnrmalatall said:

Don't listen to people who say "reinstall windows" on their first post.
If you have any installation media or can get windows 10 iso installer on a usb, boot into that and try a repair with the "repair" on the language selection screen.

This creators update sucks hard. Every time I try to delete something, I get explorer.exe crashes. I even reinstalled Windows 10 and it STILL does it.

I'll try this first though some of you say that it won't work. But could anyone give some advice on how to get Windows 10 iso installer on usb? Where can I get it and is there any requirements for the usb drive?

dalchina · 13 May 2017

It's already there- in the extensive Tutorial section which you're free to browse and search...
Windows 10 Tutorial Index Windows 10 Tutorials

Download Windows 10 ISO File Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials
Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10 Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials

L8TE · 17 May 2017

Clean win10 install did the trick!

dalchina · 17 May 2017

Good.. unfortunately some upgrades don't go smoothly.

So now is the ideal time to create your first disk image to protect yourself, your PC and your data - as you routinely update your disk image. Everyone who contributes here recommends and uses this.

Here's my write-up on the value of disk imaging.

Creating disk images lets you restore Windows and all your imaged disks and partitions to a previous working state from compressed copies you have created and kept updated on external storage media, quickly and probably without technical help.

You can recover from:
- a failed disk drive (restore to a new one)
- ransomware (which encrypts your disk)
- user error
- unrecoverable problems from failed updates to problem programs
- unbootable PC (hardware faults aside)

Images also act as a full backup- you can extract files too.

You can even use images to help you move more easily and quickly to a new PC.
Can be used with Laplink software to transfer your build automatically to another PC

Imaging can even help you sleep at night knowing you have a second chance.

Many here recommend Macrium Reflect (free) as a good robust solution and more reliable than some others. It’s
- more feature rich
- more flexible
- more reliable
than Windows Backup and Restore system images.

It's well supported with videos, help and a responsive forum.

There are other such programs, free/commercial, some with simpler interfaces, but Macrium R is one of the most robust and reliable.

How long does it take?
SSD+ USB3 - maybe 15 mins for the first system image, less thereafter
HDD + USB2 - maybe 40-50 mins
That’s with little personal data, few programs installed.
- of course, depends how much you have on C:
(You can and should image all your partitions and disks)

Once you've created your first image, keep it updated with e.g. differential imaging- which images just changes from the first image, more quickly, and creates a smaller image file.

You need a backup medium - say- twice as large as the total amount of data you are imaging to keep a reasonable number of differential images. This will vary dependent on the number of images you keep, so is only a rough practical guide.

Some comment that system restore isn't always reliable; if it works and solves the problem, great. But sometimes restores won't work or fail. And of course a restore point only covers a limited number of aspects of the system. That’s where disk imaging comes in.

(There's a tutorial on Macrium in the Tutorials section, and a couple of videos in the user videos section on this forum)
Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect Windows 10 Backup Restore Tutorials
https://www.tenforums.com/general-su...tml#post355809